Nava Vidha Bhakti or nine types of devotion, has been described in our spiritual treatises. They are Sravana (hearing the glory of God), Kirtana (singing His glory), Smarana (remembering Him always), Padasevana (falling at His Holy feet in Sarana-gati), Archana (worship with mantras, flower, fruit, milk, water etc.), (Service to God and His creation), and Atma Nivedhana (dedication of Self and everything to God in sacrifice as Iswarar-pana). Sri Sai Baba stressed the need for every aspirant cultivating these nine forms of bhakti for attaining peace and freedom from bondage (Samsara).
Smarana is " remembrance " of God. The Divine Name is undoubtedly a great fire which will burn the huge slock of one's sins accumulated in a series of births like a pile of hay. So if one can remember the Nama always wherever one may be, in whatever work one may be employed, in prosperity and in adversity, in joy and sorrow, day and night, in Jagratha, Swapna and Sushupti Avastas (wakefulness, dream and sound sleep), then one can surely attain the Lord. There is no doubt about this.
The Lord has described such exclusive remembrance and its effect in the following verses of the " Gita" which should be committed to memory by every aspirant:
"OPartha, I am easily attainable by that steadfast Yogi who constantly remembers Me daily, not thinking of any other thing (with single minded devotion).
" Having attained me, these Mahatmas or great souls do not again take birth which is the source of pain and is non-eternal, they having reached the highest perfection (Moksha)." The remembrance! should be constant and not casual, the Lord has stressed.
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said, " Chant the name of Hari, morning and evening, keeping time all the while by clapping your hands; all your sins and afflictions will then leave you. If you clap your hands standing under a tree, the birds sitting on it will fly away; so, if you chant the name of Hari clapping your hands at the same time the birds of evil thoughts Will fly away from the tree of your body, " The Holy Mother, Sri Saradaraani Devi, said; " The Divine Name (Mantra) purifies the body. Man becomes pure by repeating the Name of God. As the wind removes the cloud, so the name of God destroys the cloud of worldliness."
The great saint, Kabir, beautifully describes this in the following memorable words : " Remember God just as a lover remembers his lady-love always, remember Him as the cow always, even while grazing in a far off forest, thinks of its calf; recollect God as a pauper "who thinks of the few annas he has saved and which he counts often and often ; merge all your thoughts on God just as the deer is completely absorbed in the music of the Veena; develop deep attachment for Him similar to that of the moth for the flame (the moth does not hesitate to hug the fire even though it is burnt) ; concentrate all your thoughts on God even as the insect is absorbed in the bee and, lastly, have that intense devotion and love towards God just as the fish has for water which is its life itself and separation from which it cannot brook even for a moment,''
If every one were to follow this valuable advice and remember God every moment everywhere ceaselessly, even when going through the daily duties, performing them sincerely as sacrifice to God, without any hope of reward, without expectation of praise and without any fear or favour and spend all the leisure in meditation without wasting even one minute in idle talk or gossip, this world can become, in reality, Vaikunta and through the grace of Hari all of us can attain eternal peace sooner or later according to the intensity of devotion developed by each. In this, there is no loss of effort.
Divine nature is deemed for liberation and the demoniacal for bondage. The former leads to supreme happiness and bliss, and the latter to ignominy and the foulest hell. The Lord's Nama alone will save us from hell and the chain of births and rebirths. So every one should strive sincerely to follow the divine path and attain salvation in this very birth.
The great Kunti Matha prayed, " O Krishria! It is in sorrow and suffering we remember Thee. Therefore throw me in the whirlpool of misery over and over again so that I may not forget Thee." .. 'this shows the divine state which is fitted for immortality.
Krishna is singing of God's Nama and glories either singly or in Chorus, where a number of devotees join together for self-purification and for getting the Lord's mercy or kripa. When people who have reliance in the Lord's Words find themselves overwhelmed by difficulties and When there is no hope' of rescue, they call for His help in extreme distress and help comes forthwith. This also is kirtan for redemption from imminent peril (Bhaya), the Lord being 'Bhaya Nashana.'
The music of Sages Narada and Thumburu and the chorus bhajan of Sri Gauranga and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu come under the former category and the appeal to the Lord for help of Draupadi and Gajendra under the latter. The memorable prayer of Draupadi and her kirtan when her saree was pulled away with violence in the royal assembly by that villain Dhuchasana is most thrilling. She cried, " O Dweller of Dwaraka ! O Krishna! Lord of the Gopis ! See how I am insulted and ill-treated by these Kauravas. O Lord of Lakshmi! Lord of Vraja! Lord Janardana, allayer of suffering ! Deliver me from the ocean of misery into which these Kauravas have plunged me. O Krishna ! Preserver and Protector ! O Maha Yogi! I seek Thy protection against the tyranny of the wretched Kauravas. Pray, save me and protect my honour. O Govinda! I fall at your feet in Saranagati. There is noae to save me expect Thyself."
What happened ? That Ocean of Mercy, Lord Sri Krishna, at once entered into the composition of Draupadr's garment and the more that wicked Dhuchasana pulled it, the more the cloth extended and there was a huge pile of divine and beautiful garment all the while. Such is the efficacy of chanting and singing the Divine Nama and His glories,
Victory and mangalam be to Lord Sri Krishna and His sacred Nama! The story of Gajaraja is another instance of the Lord's overflowing mercy even to animals who can neither chant mantras nor sing like human beings. Owing to supreme merit acquired in previous births the lord of elephants cried and appealed to the Lord of watchers, Sriman Narayana and help came at once.
As regards singing in chorus by several devotees, this form of kirtana flourishes in Brindavan, Ayodhya, Pandarpur and Shirdi even today. When Sri Sai Baba was alive, his devotees used to sing in ecstasy, forgetting themselves and in complete self-surrender to that great Saviour and Healer of broken hearts.
The divine music and kirtan instil Para Bhakti not only in those singing them but also in those hearing them. The Lord of the kirtana is bodily present where so much of Divine Love is manifested. The Lord has said :
" I dwell not in Vaikunta or in the heart of Yogis ; I stay wherever My devotees assemble and sing My glory and Nama in ecstasy/'
Blessed is the devotee who gets a thrill and whose voice gets choked and his eyes filled with tears of joy as he hears, remembers or sings the Divine Name. Glory to Lord Sri Narayana. May Sri Sai Baba bless us all to have remembrance of the Divine Name always and sing His glories without reserve at all times.
Acts of sacrifice, charity, and austerity prescribed in the scriptures are always commenced by uttering any one of the many names of God such as OM, Amen, or Allah by the knowers of the Supreme. (Gita.17.25)[/b]
Topic: Smarana--- remembrance of God (Read 974 times)